Business Owner Roundup: What Changes are You Making as the Pandemic Winds Down?

Americans are getting vaccinated (finally), and there’s hope that life and work will return to some level of normalcy by this fall. Many business owners are planning ahead for when that happens.

We asked business owners what changes they plan to make as the COVID-19 pandemic nears its end. Here’s how they responded:

Moving to a four-day workweek

Our company will be making one major change following the pandemic: switching to a four-day workweek. COVID and remote work have created such unbelievably low morale among employees that I’ve resorted to giving employees random Fridays off as a means to buoy spirits. But here’s the thing: For the weeks that we’ve had Fridays off, I’ve noticed that productivity is actually up. It’s crazy and counterintuitive, but my team is actually getting more done in a four-day week than they are in a normal five-day week. Once we’re back in the office, I do plan to add an hour of work to our workdays, which will make our standard workday nine hours instead of eight.

—John Ross, CEO, Test Prep Insight, Reno, Nevada

Reopening the showroom

During the pandemic, we closed our machine tool showroom, resulting in a lot fewer visitors. We are looking to transition from virtual inventory tours to having an open showroom, while continuing to offer virtual tours as an option.

—Curt Doherty, CEO, CNC Machines, Sanford, Florida

Launching a new marketing campaign

Being in the outdoor adventure business, we are very excited for the winding down of the pandemic, and we are going to share and express this with our customers via a fun, energetic marketing campaign—a “get back to nature, get back to life” sort of message.

—Ravi Parikh, CEO, RoverPass, Austin, Texas

Returning to the office—but smaller

I am planning to reopen offices in a smaller capacity when it is safe to do so and when my employees are comfortable with returning. As a business owner, I have to value my employees’ opinions and consider their concerns when it comes to returning to an office space. I have developed a hybrid solution of allowing them to work from home while also offering office space. Having both options available will give employees the ability to choose what suits their needs most for that specific day, week or month. This solution also solves the issue of the inability to collaborate while working remotely.

—Brandon Monaghan, co-founder, Miracle Brand, Jacksonville, Florida

Expanding marketing initiatives

Our firm is planning on several major marketing initiatives this year, including some live media appearances, building upon various 2020 podcasts and online streams and  continuing to develop a social media presence in support of some new spin-off entities. We’ll also be forging new strategic partnerships throughout the U.S. and worldwide. But unlike our efforts from this past year, we’ll now be including in-person networking and outreach once travel more fully resumes.

—William Scott Goldman, founder and managing attorney, Goldman Law Group, Washington, D.C.

Planning live events again

As life transitions back to in-person experiences and the pandemic winds down, we’ll be focused on the excitement of real-life events and tying them into our existing digital campaigns. Multichannel marketing has made it easy to follow customers from one digital space to the next. We aim to do the same for post-pandemic life 2.0.

—Daniel Snow, co-founder and CEO, The Snow Agency, Edgewater, New Jersey

How do you plan to adjust your business model or operations as the pandemic winds down? Share your plans in the comments section below.